Methods for Processing Substrates Using a Movable Plasma Confinement Structure

ABSTRACT

A method of processing a substrate is provided. The method includes loading a substrate in a processing chamber. The substrate is supported on a bottom electrode and the processing chamber includes a top electrode opposing the bottom electrode. The method includes placing a plasma containment structure over a selected portion of the surface of the substrate to define a plasma containment region of the selected portion of the surface of the substrate. Then, injecting at least one process gas into the plasma containment region and biasing the top electrode and the bottom electrode. The method further includes exhausting process byproducts from the plasma containment region and moving the plasma containment region relative to the substrate to selectively passes over the entire surface of the substrate.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application is a Divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/308,989, filed on Dec. 1, 2011 and entitled “System, Method andApparatus of a Wedge-Shaped Parallel Plate Plasma Reactor for SubstrateProcessing,” which further claims priority from U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/560,292 filed on Nov. 15, 2011 and entitled “System,Method and Apparatus of a Wedge-Shaped Parallel Plate Plasma Reactor forSubstrate,” all of which are incorporated herein by reference for allpurposes.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present invention relates generally to plasma reaction chambers, andmore particularly, to methods, systems and apparatus for plasma reactionchambers having processing areas less than the total area of the surfacebeing processed.

BACKGROUND

FIG. 1A is a side view of a typical parallel-plate, capacitive, plasmaprocessing chamber 100. FIG. 1B is a top view of a substrate 102processed in the typical parallel-plate, capacitive, plasma processingchamber 100. The typical processing chamber 100 includes a top electrode104, a bottom electrode 106 supporting a substrate to be processed 102.The top electrode 104 is typically a showerhead type electrode withmultiple inlet ports 109. The multiple inlet ports 109 allow processgases 110 in across the width of the processing chamber 100.

The typical parallel-plate, capacitive plasma reactor 100 is used forprocessing round planar substrates. Common processes are dielectric etchand other etch processes. Such plasma reactors typically suffer frominherent center-to-edge non-uniformities of neutral species.

The center-to-edge non-uniformities of neutral species arises from thedifferences in one or more of a flow velocity, an effective gasresidence time, and gas chemical composition present at the center ofthe substrate as compared to the flow velocity, effective gas residencetime, and gas chemical composition present at the edge. The gas chemicalcompositions can be influenced by composition and flow of injected gasmixtures; gas-phase dissociation, exchange and recombination reactions;as well as recombination products and byproducts from surface mediatedetch.

By way of example, as the process gases are introduced across the widthof the processing chamber the plasma 112 is formed between the topelectrode 104 and bottom electrode 106. Plasma byproducts 118 are formedby reactions of plasma radicals and neutrals in the gas phase and/orwith the surface of the substrate 102. The plasma byproducts 118 aretransported to the sides of the substrate where they may exit the plasmaand eventually are removed from the chamber by pumps 108. Plasmabyproducts can include products from one or more dissociation reactions(e.g., CF4+e⁻→CF3+F+e⁻) and/or one or more ionizations (e.g.,CF4+e⁻→CF3⁺+F⁻) and/or one or more excitations (e.g., Ar+e⁻→Ar*+e⁻)and/or one or more attachments (e.g., CF4+e⁻→CF3+F⁻) and/or one or morebinary reactions (e.g., CF3+H→CF2+HF).

Plasma byproducts 118 can also include substrate etch byproductsincluding SiF2, SiF4, CO, CO2, and CN. Etch byproducts can alsodissociate and react in the plasma 112 to form other species.

Recombination also occurs during the plasma processing. Recombination isa chemical reaction in which two neutral species combine to form asingle molecule, the recombination product 120. Recombination typicallyoccurs when the radicals and neutrals from the plasma 112 interact atsurfaces such as the bottom surface of the top electrode 104. Therecombination products 120 may be transported off the side of thesubstrate 102 into pumps 108, similar to the plasma byproducts 118.Plasma recombination products 120 can arise from one or more wall orsurface binary reactions (e.g., F+CF→CF2, and/or H+H→H2, and/or O+O→O2,and/or N+N→N2). Plasma-surface interactions can also include depositionof films on the wall or other internal surface of the chamber 100 e.g.CFx radicals may deposit a polymer film.

It should be noted that as shown in FIG. 1A, the plasma byproducts arelost from one side of the substrate 102 and the recombination products120 are lost from the opposite side of the substrate 102 for claritypurposes only. In actual practice, those skilled in the art wouldrealize that both the recombination products 120 and the plasmabyproducts 118 are intermixed and lost from both sides of the substrate102 to pumps 108.

During plasma processing the concentrations of the chemical species varyfrom the center to the edge of the substrate 102. These species includerecombination products 120, the plasma byproducts 118, as well asunmodified injected gases. Due to these nonuniformities in chemicalspeciation, as well as other possible non-uniform conditions such assubstrate surface temperature, ion flux, ion energy, etc., the effectiveplasma processing of the substrate, e.g. etching of a target film in astructure, varies from the center to the edge of the substrate 102.

By way of example, the plasma radical species could be most concentratedat the center plasma processing regions 114A and 116A over centralportion 102A of the substrate 102. Further, the radicals could besomewhat less concentrated in intermediate plasma processing regions114B and 116B over intermediate portion 102B of the substrate 102.Further still, the concentrations of the radicals could be even lessconcentrated in edge plasma processing regions 114C and 116C over theedge portion 102C of the substrate 102.

Thus, in this example, if the local radical density controls theplasma-induced etch rate, the highest etch rate would occur in thecenter plasma processing regions 114A and 116A over the center portion102A of substrate 102 as compared to a slightly lower etch rate in theintermediate plasma processing regions 114B and 116B over theintermediate portion 102B of substrate 102 and even lower etch rate inthe plasma processing of the edge plasma processing regions 114C and116C over the edge portion 102C of the substrate. This would result in acenter-to-edge nonuniformity of the substrate 102 film thickness afterprocessing. Radial variations in etch and deposition rates are typicalproblems for commercial plasma processing systems, as applied to roundflat substrates such as wafers.

This center-to-edge nonuniformity is exacerbated in small volume productplasma processing chambers that have a very large aspect ratio. Forexample, a very large aspect ratio is defined as when the width W of thesubstrate is about four or more times the height H of the plasmaprocessing region. The very large aspect ratio of the plasma processingregion limits the effectiveness of gas-phase diffusion for mixingneutral species, and thus tends to worsen the non-uniformity of theplasma byproducts 118 and recombination products 120 in the plasmaprocessing regions 114A-116C.

Although this center-to-edge non-uniformity of neutral species is notthe only cause of center-to-edge process non-uniformity, in manydielectric etch applications it is a significant contributor.Specifically, neutral-sensitive processes such as gate or bitline maskopen, photoresist (PR) strip over low-k films, highly selectivecontact/cell, and dual-damascene (DD) via etch may be especiallysensitive to these effects. Similar problems may apply in otherparallel-plate plasma reactors, besides those used for wafer dielectricetch.

In view of the foregoing, there is a need for improving thecenter-to-edge chemical species uniformity in plasma etch processes.

SUMMARY

Broadly speaking, the present invention fills these needs by providingan improved parallel plate plasma processing chamber. It should beappreciated that the present invention can be implemented in numerousways, including as a process, an apparatus, a system, computer readablemedia, or a device. Several inventive embodiments of the presentinvention are described below.

One embodiment provides a plasma process chamber including a topelectrode, a bottom electrode disposed opposite the top electrode, and abottom electrode capable of supporting a substrate. The plasma processchamber also includes a plasma containment structure defining a plasmacontainment region over the substrate, with the area defined by plasmacontainment region being less than an entire surface of the substrate.The plasma containment structure rotates relative to the substrate andwherein the plasma containment region includes a center point of thesubstrate throughout the rotation of the plasma containment structurerelative to the substrate. The plasma containment structure includesmultiple gaps. A pumped vacuum region is coupled to the gaps in theplasma containment structure.

The plasma containment structure can include a containment ring and aninner containment. The top electrode can be coupled to a top electrodebias potential and the bottom electrode can be coupled to bottomelectrode bias potential. The gaps in the plasma containment structuredetermine a greater first pressure of one or more process gas in theplasma containment region and a lesser second pressure of a remainingportion of the process chamber outside the plasma containment region.The first pressure can be at least twice the second pressure.

The top electrode can be coupled to at least one process gas source andthe top electrode includes multiple inlet ports. A first portion of theinlet ports are open and a second portion of the inlet ports are closed,the first portion being disposed within the plasma containment regionand the second portion being disposed within a remaining portion of theprocess chamber outside the plasma containment region.

The containment structure can include a containment angle of betweenabout 30 degrees and about 330 degrees. A first portion of the gaps inthe plasma containment structure are formed between the plasmacontainment structure and the lower electrode. A second portion of thegaps in the plasma containment structure are formed in the plasmacontainment structure.

The plasma containment structure can include an inner containmentextension, the inner containment extension extending from the plasmacontainment structure between the top electrode and the bottom electrodeinto a remaining portion of the process chamber outside the plasmacontainment region. The plasma process chamber can be included in anintegrated system including an integrated system controller coupled tothe plasma process chamber, the integrated system controller including auser interface, logic for monitoring and controlling the plasma processchamber and logic for collecting, storing, displaying, and analyzingdata from the plasma process chamber.

Another embodiment provides a plasma process chamber including a topelectrode, a bottom electrode disposed opposite the top electrode, thebottom electrode capable of supporting a substrate. The plasma processchamber also including a plasma containment structure defining a plasmacontainment region, the plasma containment region being less than anentire surface of the substrate, wherein the plasma containmentstructure rotates relative to the substrate an wherein the plasmacontainment region includes a center point of the substrate throughoutthe rotation of the plasma containment structure relative to thesubstrate, wherein plasma containment structure include a containmentring and an inner containment, wherein the containment structureincludes a containment angle of between about 30 degrees and about 330degrees. The plasma process chamber also includes multiple gaps in theplasma containment structure, wherein the gaps in the plasma containmentstructure determine a greater first pressure of one or more process gasin the plasma containment region and a lesser second pressure of aremaining portion of the process chamber outside the plasma containmentregion. A vacuum source can be coupled to the gaps in the plasmacontainment structure.

Yet another embodiment provides a method of processing a substrateincluding loading a substrate in a processing chamber, wherein thesubstrate is supported on a bottom electrode and wherein the processingchamber includes a top electrode opposing the bottom electrode. Themethod of processing the substrate also including placing a plasmacontainment structure over a selected portion of the surface of thesubstrate to define a plasma containment region of the selected portionof the surface of the substrate and injecting at least one process gasinto the plasma containment region. The top electrode and the bottomelectrode are biased. Process byproducts are exhausted from the plasmacontainment region. The plasma containment region is moved relative tothe substrate to selectively eventually pass over the entire surface ofthe substrate.

A first pressure of the at least one process gas in the plasmacontainment region is at least twice a second pressure of a remainingportion of the process chamber outside the plasma containment region.The plasma containment structure can include an inner containmentextension, the inner containment extension extending from the plasmacontainment structure between the top electrode and the bottom electrodeinto a remaining portion of the process chamber outside the plasmacontainment region.

The containment structure can include a containment angle of betweenabout 30 degrees and about 330 degrees. The top electrode can be coupledto at least one process gas source and the top electrode can includemultiple inlet ports, wherein a first portion of the inlet ports areopen and a second portion of the inlet ports are closed, the firstportion being disposed within the plasma containment region and thesecond portion being disposed within a remaining portion of the processchamber outside the plasma containment region.

At least one of the top electrode bias potential and the bottomelectrode bias potential can be applied to the respective top electrodeand bottom electrode.

Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles ofthe invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be readily understood by the followingdetailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1A is a side view of a typical parallel-plate, capacitive, plasmaprocessing chamber.

FIG. 1B is a top view of a substrate processed in the typicalparallel-plate, capacitive, plasma processing chamber.

FIG. 2A is a side sectional view of a plasma processing chamber, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2B is a top view of a plasma processing chamber with the topelectrode not shown, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2C is a top view of a plasma processing chamber with the topelectrode not shown, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2D is a perspective view of a plasma processing chamber, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2E is a top view of a plasma processing chamber with the topelectrode not shown, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2F is a top view of a plasma processing chamber with the topelectrode not shown, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2G is electrical schematic of a processing chamber, in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a side sectional view of a plasma processing chamber, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3B is a top view of a plasma processing chamber, with the topelectrode not shown, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3C is a perspective view of the plasma processing chamber, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of a plasma processing chamber, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the method operations of a plasma processingchamber, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an integrated system including one or moreof the plasma processing chambers, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Several exemplary embodiments for an improved parallel plate plasmaprocessing chamber will now be described. It will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced withoutsome or all of the specific details set forth herein.

The invention reduces center-to-edge differences in the neutral speciesdensities by separating the circular symmetry traditionally used inparallel-plate wafer etching. In one wedge-shaped region of the reactor,the wafer is processed by a plasma, for example a capacitive dischargeplasma. This wedge is called the plasma containment region. In thecomplementary wedge or portion of the processing chamber outside thecontainment region, there is little or no plasma present, such that theextent of substrate processing in this “non-etch” region is minimalcompared to the containment region. The portion of the processingchamber outside the plasma containment region provides an efficient gasconductance path for effluent. Because this region is arranged to alwaysbe close to the center region of the substrate, the effective pumping ofgases from the center is increased relative to the traditionalcircular-plasma arrangement. The center region of the substrate, withinthe plasma containment region but near the tip of containment region, ispumped nearly as efficiently as the region near the edge of thesubstrate within the plasma confinement region. This enhanced centerregion gas removal substantially balances the inherent non-uniformity ofthe center pumping in the conventional parallel-plate geometry for roundplanar substrates. The substrate and/or the wedge-based upper hardwarewould be rotated to ensure all areas of the substrate are exposed toplasma for substantially equal times in the course of one cycle, thusproviding azimuthally uniform process results, when averaged overmultiple rotations.

The etch region can have a plasma containment region (i.e., wedge)encompassing more than about 270 degrees of a circle. This ensuresreasonably high processing rates compared to prior art. Thecomplementary non-etch region in the portion of the processing chamberoutside the plasma containment region would include plasma confinementalong both radial boundaries, to exclude plasma from the non-etchregion.

Gas transport from the plasma containment region to the non-etch regionis provided around and through the confinement structure. The plasmaconfinement structure allows significant gas conductance while excludingthe plasma as will be described in more detail below. Gas removal nearthe center of the substrate (e.g., a tip of the non-etch wedge),relative to the edge, can be enhanced by including a pump-out port inthe upper surface near the tip of the non-etch wedge, leading to avacuum pump.

Radial and azimuthal variations in the gap between substrate and topsurface can be used to tune the gas conductance versus radius, todeliver an optimal neutral uniformity in the containment region. Thecontainment structure can also provide a pressure differential betweenthe pressure inside the containment structure and a pressure external tothe containment region. This pressure differential helps to maintain ano-plasma condition in the non-etch region while a plasma sustainingcondition exists in the containment region.

RF bias power can be applied to the substrate and the top electrode canbe grounded in the containment region. The local conditions of thecontainment region, including gap, pressure, surface temperatures, andplasma density would be targeted to be similar to typical prior artparallel-plate plasma reactors.

A more uniform neutral speciation center-to-edge is produced as comparedto conventional parallel-plate wafer processing or any known variations.Traditionally one method for improving center-to-edge neutral uniformityis to increase the reactor gap. But this doesn't eliminate the problem,it just smoothes the variations out by diffusion, with the usuallynegative tradeoffs of lower plasma density, longer gas residence time,and variations in plasma uniformity.

Although other configurations may be imagined where the substrate movesrelative to the upper electrode of the process chamber, in the presentinvention every point on the substrate is exposed to plasma for asubstantially equal amount of time. This is inherent in the wedge shapeand the rotation of the substrate and/or the containment structure.

The present invention is superior to line-shaped plasma sources, withlinear motion perpendicular to the line, because it avoids possibleplasma loading non-uniformities as the width of the processed regionvaries while the substrate scans across the plasma line. The presentinvention is superior to typical parallel-plate substrate processingschemes that would add pumping ports in the top plate, because thatapproach leads to the inherent plasma and neutral non-uniformities nearthe pump ports, and requires the confinement of plasma close to the pumpports. The present approach avoids these problems, such that the plasmacontainment region of the process chamber has a substantially uniformplasma and neutral environment, free from local hardware effects in thetop end. Also the present invention separates the plasma confinementfrom optional pump-out ports in the top hardware, simplifying theengineering of both functions.

FIG. 2A is a side sectional view of a plasma processing chamber 200, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The plasmaprocessing chamber 200 includes containment structure. The containmentstructure includes an edge containment ring 202 and an inner containment204. The edge containment ring 202 and inner containment 204 constrainthe plasma 201 over a selected portion 102E of the surface of thesubstrate 102. The edge containment ring 202 and inner containment 204can be formed from any suitable dielectric materials and combinationsthereof (e.g., ceramic, silicon dioxide, quartz, etc.)

The containment ring 202 is substantially close to the edge of thesubstrate 102 and leaves only a relatively small gap 203 between theedge of the substrate and the containment ring. The gap 203 is betweenabout 0.2 mm and about 4 mm. Thus the plasma byproducts 118 andrecombination products 120 can escape the plasma processing region viathe relatively small gap 203 to the pumps 108.

The plasma 201 is constrained between the inner containment 204 and theedge containment ring 202. The inner containment 204 prevents the plasma201 from being formed over the remaining surface area 102F of thesubstrate 102. The inner containment 204 provides at least one gap 205A,205B, between the inner containment and the top electrode 104 andbetween the inner containment and the surface of the substrate 102. Thegap(s) 205A, 205B are between about 0.3 mm and about 6 mm Thus theplasma products 118 and recombination byproducts 120 can escape theplasma processing region via the relatively small gaps 205A, 205B andthen through a high-conductance path 116A to the pumps 108.

The containment ring 202 is and the inner containment 204 alsoconcentrate the process gases 110 and thus determine the location wherethe plasma 201 can be supported. A minimum concentration and/or pressureof process gases 110 are needed before a plasma 201 can be supportedbetween the top electrode 104 and the bottom electrode 106. The pressurein the plasma containment region 214 is approximately at least twice thepressure as remaining portion 216 of the process chamber 200 outside thecontainment region.

A combination of the flow rate of the process gases into the plasmacontainment region 214 and the relatively small gaps 203, 205A, 205Bmaintains the pressure differential between the plasma containmentregion and the remainder of the process chamber 200. As a result of thepressure differential, the plasma 201 can only be supported within theplasma containment region 214. Therefore, there will be no plasmapresent in the portion 216 of the process chamber 200 outside the plasmacontainment region 214 because the process gases 110 are notconcentrated sufficiently to support a plasma outside the containmentregion.

The plasma 201 can also be constrained to the plasma containment region214 because the process gases 110′ are substantially stopped fromflowing into the portion 216 of the process chamber 200 outside theplasma containment region 214. Thus there is an insufficientconcentration of the process gases in the portion 216 of the processchamber 200 outside the plasma containment region 214. The top electrodecan include a one or more valves and/or manifold system (not shown) tocontrol or stop the flow of process gases 110′ to the portion 216 of theprocess chamber 200 outside the plasma containment region 214.

The plasma 201 can also be constrained to the plasma containment region214 because one or both of the top electrode 104 and bottom electrode106 can be selectively biased. By way of example only that portion ofthe top electrode 104 included within the plasma containment region 214might be biased and the remaining portion of the top electrode 104 thatis not included within the plasma containment region remains unbiased orbiased in a different manner to prevent formation of plasma outside thecontainment region. Similarly, the only that portion of the bottomelectrode 106 included within the plasma containment region 214 might bebiased and the remaining portion of the bottom electrode 106 that is notincluded within the plasma containment region remains unbiased or biasedin a different manner to prevent formation of plasma outside thecontainment region.

FIG. 2B is a top view of a plasma processing chamber 200 with the topelectrode 104 not shown, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention. As shown in FIG. 2B, the plasma processing chamber 200 has acontainment ring 202 and inner containment 204 containing a plasmaprocessing region over a containment angle 212 of about 180 degrees. Thecontainment angle 212 of about 180 degrees selects a portion 102E ofslightly more than one half of the substrate 102 surface.

The plasma containment ring 202 and inner containment 204 can moverelative to the surface of the substrate 102. By way of example, theplasma containment ring 202 and inner containment 204 can rotaterelative to the surface of the substrate 102 in one or both directions210A, 210B. Alternatively, the substrate 102 can rotate relative to theplasma containment ring 202 and inner containment 204. Alternatively,both the substrate 102 and the plasma containment ring 202 and innercontainment 204 can rotate relative to one another.

Moving the inner containment 204 over the surface of the substrate 102allows plasma processing of the entire surface of the substrate 102 inthe course of a complete cycle of motion. It should be noted that thecenter 102D of the substrate 102 is maintained within the plasmaprocessing region as the plasma containment ring 202 and innercontainment 204 are moved relative to the surface of the substrate 102.

FIG. 2C is a top view of a plasma processing chamber 200′ with the topelectrode 104 not shown, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 2D is a perspective view of a plasma processing chamber200′, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Asshown in FIGS. 2C and 2D, the plasma processing chamber 200′ has acontainment ring 202 and inner containment 204 containing a plasmaprocessing region over a containment angle 212 of about 90 degrees. Alsoshown are respective widths 222 and 224 of the inner containment 204Aand the containment ring 202 and the gaps 226 and 228 (similar to gaps205A, 205B described above) between the respective top and bottom of theinner containment 204A.

FIG. 2E is a top view of a plasma processing chamber 200″ with the topelectrode 104 not shown, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention. Plasma processing chamber 200″ has a containment ring 202 andinner containment 204 containing a plasma processing region over acontainment angle 212 of less than about 90 degrees, e.g., between lessthan about 30 degrees and about 90 degrees.

FIG. 2F is a top view of a plasma processing chamber 200′″ with the topelectrode 104 not shown, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention. Plasma processing chamber 200′″ has a containment ring 202and inner containment 204 containing a plasma processing region over acontainment angle 212 of greater than about 180 degrees and less than360 degrees, e.g., between about 180 and more than about 330 degrees. Asshown in various embodiments, the containment angle 212 can be betweenless than about 30 degrees and more than about 330 degrees.

FIG. 2G is electrical schematic of a processing chamber 200, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. S1 is a biassignal applied to the top electrode 104. S2 is a bias signal applied tothe bottom electrode 106. Capacitor C1 represents the effectivecapacitance of the plasma 201, which may behave similar to a capacitiveload for typical conditions. Capacitor C2 represents the capacitancebetween the top electrode 104 and the bottom electrode 106 outside theplasma containment region 214. The capacitor C1 and capacitor C2 areseparated by the inner containment 204. The capacitance C1 of the plasma201 is much greater than the capacitance of capacitor C2, becausecapacitance C2 is mainly determined by the chamber gap which capacitanceC1 is mainly determined by the top and bottom plasma sheaths, in series,both with much small widths than the chamber gap. As a result, theimpedance of capacitor C1 is less than the impedance of capacitor C2.Therefore, the bulk of the current flow between the top electrode 104and the bottom electrode 106 is through the plasma 201 in the plasmacontainment region 214. This ensures efficient use of supplied current.

FIG. 3A is a side sectional view of a plasma processing chamber 300, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3B is a topview of a plasma processing chamber 300, with the top electrode 104 notshown, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.3C is a perspective view of the plasma processing chamber 300, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The plasmaprocessing chamber 300 includes an edge containment ring 202 and aninner containment 204. The edge containment ring 202 and innercontainment 204 constrain the plasma 201 over a selected portion 102E ofthe surface of the substrate 102. The inner containment 204 alsoincludes an inner containment extension 302.

The inner containment extension 302 substantially extends over theremaining portion of the substrate 102 external from the plasmacontainment region 214. The inner containment extension 302 furtherprevents the formation of a plasma over the remainder of the substrate102. The inner containment extension 302 can have anenhanced-conductance shape such as rounded end 302A as shown or othertapered, curved, grooved, and/or tailored shapes as may be applied toimprove the flow of gases 118, 120 from the plasma containment region214. The inner containment extension 302 can have a thickness 306 inwhatever thickness necessary to prevent the formation of the plasma. Byway of example, the inner containment extension 302 can have a thickness306 of between 20% and about 80% of the chamber gap (height H of theplasma processing region).

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of a plasma processing chamber 400, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The plasmaprocessing chamber 400 includes an edge containment ring 402 and aninner containment 404. As described above, with regard to the edgecontainment ring 202 and inner containment 204, edge containment ring402 and an inner containment 404 constrain the plasma 201 in the plasmacontainment region 214 over a selected portion 102E of the surface ofthe substrate 102.

The inner containment 404 can be formed in multiple layers of thinnercontainment elements. Gaps 405 of a desired size and number can beselectively formed between the elements of the inner containment 404 byinstalling the desired spacers (not shown) between the elements of theinner containment 404.

Similarly, the edge containment ring 402 can be formed in multiplelayers of thinner containment elements. Gaps 403 of a desired size andnumber can be selectively formed between the elements of the containmentring 402 by installing the desired spacers (not shown) between theelements of the edge containment ring 402. By way of example, the gaps403, 405 can be between about 0.2 mm and about 3 mm.

The plasma byproducts 118 and recombination products 120 can pass fromthe plasma containment region 214 through the gaps 403, 405 to the pumps108. The sizes and numbers of gaps 403, 405 can be selected to controlthe pressure differential between the plasma containment region 214 andthe remaining portion of the processing chamber 400. There may bebetween one and 6 gaps 403, 405 in the respective containment ring 402and inner containment 404. There may be a greater or lesser number ofgaps in the containment ring 402 than in the inner containment 404. Thegaps 403 in the containment ring 402 may be aligned with or offset fromthe gaps 405 in the inner containment 404. Each of the gaps 403, 405 inthe respective containment ring 402 and inner containment 404 can be thesame or different sizes.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the method operations of a plasma processingchamber 200, 200′, 200″, 200′″, 300, 400, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention. The operations illustrated hereinare by way of example, as it should be understood that some operationsmay have sub-operations and in other instances, certain operationsdescribed herein may not be included in the illustrated operations. Withthis in mind, the method and operations 500 will now be described.

In operation 505 the substrate 102 is loaded in the processing chamber200. In an operation 510 a plasma containment ring 202, 402 and an innercontainment 204, 204A, 204B, 404 is placed over a selected portion ofthe substrate 102 to define a plasma containment region 214. Theselected portion of the substrate 102 is less than the entire surface ofthe substrate.

In an operation 515, process gases are injected into the plasmacontainment region 214. In an operation 520, the top electrode 104and/or the bottom electrode 106 are biased to form a plasma 201 in theplasma containment region 214.

In an operation 525 plasma byproducts are exhausted around or throughthe plasma containment ring 202, 402 and the inner containment 204,204A, 204B, 404 to the pumps 108.

In an operation 530, the plasma containment ring 202, 402 and the innercontainment 204, 204A, 204B, 404 is rotated relative to the substrate102 such that the plasma containment region 214 passes over the entiresurface of the substrate.

A total process time is an integral number of rotation periods of theplasma containment region 214 relative to the surface of the substrate102. Where: T(total)=n×T(period). The etch time can be adjustedMaintaining T(total)>>T(period), and n large provides finer adjustmentsof etch time. T(total) can vary from one application to another. By wayof example, between less than about 20 seconds and more than about 600seconds. However, a larger T(period) can reduce mechanical issues suchas excessive angular momentum or friction, etc. By way of example,T(period) can be between greater than about 0.1 second and less thanabout 5.0 seconds. In another example, T(period) can be between greaterthan about 0.2 second and less than about 2.0 seconds.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an integrated system 600 including one ormore of the plasma processing chambers 200, 200′, 200″, 200′″, 300, 400,in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Theintegrated system 600 includes the one or more of the plasma processingchambers 200, 200′, 200″, 200′″, 300, 400, and an integrated systemcontroller 610 coupled to the processing chamber(s). The integratedsystem controller 610 includes or is coupled to (e.g., via a wired orwireless network 612) a user interface 614. The user interface 614provides user readable outputs and indications and can receive userinputs and provides user access to the integrated system controller 610.

The integrated system controller 610 can include a special purposecomputer or a general purpose computer. The integrated system controller610 can execute computer programs 616 to monitor, control and collectand store data 618 (e.g., performance history, analysis of performanceor defects, operator logs, and history, etc.) for the plasma chamber(s).By way of example, the integrated system controller 610 can adjust theoperations of the plasma chamber(s) and/or the components therein (e.g.,the edge containment ring, pressures, flow rates, bias signals, loadingand unloading of the substrate 102, etc.) if data collected dictates anadjustment to the operation thereof.

With the above embodiments in mind, it should be understood that theinvention may employ various computer-implemented operations involvingdata stored in computer systems. These operations are those requiringphysical manipulation of physical quantities. Usually, though notnecessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magneticsignals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, andotherwise manipulated. Further, the manipulations performed are oftenreferred to in terms, such as producing, identifying, determining, orcomparing.

The invention can also be embodied as computer readable code on acomputer readable medium and/or logic circuits. The computer readablemedium is any data storage device that can store data, which canthereafter be read by a computer system. Examples of the computerreadable medium include hard drives, network attached storage (NAS),read-only memory, random-access memory, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, CD-RWs, DVDs,Flash, magnetic tapes, and other optical and non-optical data storagedevices. The computer readable medium can also be distributed over anetwork coupled computer systems so that the computer readable code isstored and executed in a distributed fashion.

Any of the operations described herein that form part of the inventionare useful machine operations. The invention also relates to a device oran apparatus for performing these operations. The apparatus may bespecially constructed for the required purposes, or it may be ageneral-purpose computer selectively activated or configured by acomputer program stored in the computer. In particular, variousgeneral-purpose machines may be used with computer programs written inaccordance with the teachings herein, or it may be more convenient toconstruct a more specialized apparatus to perform the requiredoperations.

It will be further appreciated that the instructions represented by theoperations in the above figures are not required to be performed in theorder illustrated, and that all the processing represented by theoperations may not be necessary to practice the invention. Further, theprocesses described in any of the above figures can also be implementedin software stored in any one of or combinations of the RAM, the ROM, orthe hard disk drive.

Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail forpurposes of clarity of understanding, it will be apparent that certainchanges and modifications may be practiced within the scope of theappended claims. Accordingly, the present embodiments are to beconsidered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the invention is notto be limited to the details given herein, but may be modified withinthe scope and equivalents of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of processing a substrate comprising;loading a substrate in a processing chamber, wherein the substrate issupported on a bottom electrode and wherein the processing chamberincludes a top electrode opposing the bottom electrode; placing a plasmacontainment structure over a selected portion of the surface of thesubstrate to define a plasma containment region of the selected portionof the surface of the substrate; injecting at least one process gas intothe plasma containment region; biasing the top electrode and the bottomelectrode; exhausting process byproducts from the plasma containmentregion; and moving the plasma containment region relative to thesubstrate to selectively passes over the entire surface of thesubstrate.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein a first pressure of the atleast one process gas in the plasma containment region is at least twicea second pressure of a remaining portion of the process chamber outsidethe plasma containment region.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein theplasma containment structure includes an inner containment extension,the inner containment extension extending from the plasma containmentstructure between the top electrode and the bottom electrode into aremaining portion of the process chamber outside the plasma containmentregion.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the top electrode is coupledto at least one process gas source and the top electrode includes aplurality of inlet ports, wherein a first portion of the plurality ofinlet ports are open and a second portion of the plurality of inletports are closed, the first portion being disposed within the plasmacontainment region and the second portion being disposed within aremaining portion of the process chamber outside the plasma containmentregion.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising coupling the topelectrode to a top electrode bias potential and coupling the bottomelectrode to a bottom electrode bias potential, wherein at least one ofthe top electrode bias potential and the bottom electrode bias potentialis applied to the respective top electrode and bottom electrode onlywithin the plasma containment region.
 6. A method of processing asubstrate comprising; loading a substrate in a processing chamber,wherein the substrate is supported on a bottom electrode and wherein theprocessing chamber includes a top electrode opposing the bottomelectrode; placing a plasma containment structure over a selectedportion of the surface of the substrate to define a plasma containmentregion of the selected portion of the surface of the substrate, whereinthe plasma containment structure has a containment angle of betweenabout 30 degrees and about 330 degrees; injecting at least one processgas into the plasma containment region; biasing the top electrode andthe bottom electrode; exhausting process byproducts from the plasmacontainment region; and moving the plasma containment region relative tothe substrate to selectively passes over the entire surface of thesubstrate.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein a first pressure of theleast one process gas in the plasma containment region is at least twicea second pressure of a remaining portion of the process chamber outsidethe plasma containment region.
 8. The method of claim 6, wherein theplasma containment structure includes an inner containment extension,the inner containment extension extending from the plasma containmentstructure between the top electrode and the bottom electrode in aremaining portion of the plasma process chamber outside the plasmacontainment region.
 9. The method of claim 6, wherein the top electrodeis coupled to at least one process gas source and the top electrodeincludes a plurality of inlet ports, wherein a first portion of theplurality of inlet ports are open and a second portion of the pluralityof inlet ports are closed, the first portion being disposed within theplasma containment region and the second portion being disposed within aremaining portion of the process chamber outside the plasma containmentregion.
 10. The method of claim 6, further comprising coupling the topelectrode to a top electrode bias potential and coupling the bottomelectrode to a bottom electrode bias potential, wherein at least one ofthe top electrode bias potential and the bottom electrode bias potentialis applied to the respective top electrode and bottom electrode onlywithin the plasma containment region.
 11. A method of processing asubstrate comprising; loading a substrate in a processing chamber,wherein the substrate is supported on a bottom electrode and wherein theprocessing chamber includes a top electrode opposing the bottomelectrode; placing a plasma containment structure over a selectedportion of the surface of the substrate to define a plasma containmentregion of the selected portion of the surface of the substrate, whereinthe plasma containment structure has a wedge-shape; injecting at leastone process gas into the plasma containment region; biasing the topelectrode and the bottom electrode; exhausting process byproducts fromthe plasma containment region; and moving the plasma containment regionrelative to the substrate to selectively passes over the entire surfaceof the substrate; wherein at least one of the top electrode biaspotential and the bottom electrode bias potential is applied to therespective top electrode and bottom electrode only within the plasmacontainment region.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein a first pressureof the least one process gas in the plasma containment region is atleast twice a second pressure into a remaining portion of the plasmaprocess chamber outside the plasma containment region.
 13. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the plasma containment structure includes an innercontainment extension, the inner containment extension extending fromthe plasma containment structure between the top electrode and thebottom electrode in a remaining portion of the process chamber outsidethe plasma containment region.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein thewedge-shape of the plasma containment structure has a containment angleof between about 30 degrees and about 330 degrees.